


True Colors Shining Through

by La_Pacifidora



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/969975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_Pacifidora/pseuds/La_Pacifidora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oliver 'I could buy half of Starling City' Queen is at the mall?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	True Colors Shining Through

**Author's Note:**

> This was a bit of fluff for my dear friend, Veritas724, who'd had a lousy couple of weeks and deserved something positive.
> 
> It is set, loosely, in S2 and takes into account no spoilers for S2. It is not associated with any specific possible episode, but you can assume it takes place during October, as Halloween is mentioned. It is vaguely Olicity, but not overwhelmingly so.
> 
> Finally, I own nothing and make no profit from this, other than Veri's laughter and improved mood.

Felicity thanked the employee as she took her change, slipping it into her front pocket and picking up her pretzel and soda as she stepped away from the counter. She took a deep breath, her nose scrunching slightly as she realized that the faint floral scent Starling City Center pumped into the rest of the mall did nothing to cover the mingled scents of French fries, Schezuan chicken, California rolls, waffle cones, grilled subs and soft pretzels that filled the food court. Shaking her head, she wound her way through the field of tables, muttering an apology as her bag bumped into the shoulder of a harried looking mother who was trying to convince her twin toddlers not to stick their fries either up their noses or in their ears. She finally found a smaller table near the main concourse, and sat with her back to one of the interior decorative pillars and a clear view of all potential exits, unconsciously applying the advice Digg and Oliver had been giving her for months.

 

Settling into the metal chair, Felicity set her soda aside and ripped a piece off her sugar-and-almond-encrusted pretzel, which she popped in her mouth. She groaned quietly as the sweetness of the candied almonds gave way to the slightly salty taste of the pretzel dough and swallowed, washing it down with a long drag on the straw of her soda. She glanced down at the pretzel and chewed on the straw, feeling momentarily guilty for eating something that would probably give Oliver hives, given his normal pickiness about food. (She was still slightly shocked when he'd lean over her at the computer, and she'd catch a whiff of the sauce that came standard on a Big Belly Burger quarter-pounder when he spoke.) But, she reasoned, it was Saturday: A day of rest for her people, specifically, and most people in general. That was, after all, why Oliver had insisted she take the day off, and she shouldn't feel guilty when he wasn't even around to see her 'lunch.' With a shrug, she pulled another, larger piece of pretzel off and stuffed it in her mouth, giving her the appearance of a greedy chipmunk.

 

"Felicity?" Digg's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she choked a little as she tried to swallow the pretzel, which had turned to glue in her mouth. As her face turned red, Digg entered the corner of her vision from behind the pillar at her back and leant forward, placing one hand on her back and handing her the soda. She fumbled to pull the lid off, but managed to pull it off and gulped a mouthful, the acidity of the cola cutting through the doughy mess, and she took several deep breaths, coughing a little as a piece of pretzel caught in her throat. She looked up to see Digg grinning down at her as he came around and sat down across from her. "Sorry about that: I didn't mean to startle you."

 

"S'OK." Felicity croaked, taking another, slower sip of her soda, then pounded on her chest with her fist. "Don't worry about it, Digg." She smiled and turned to look over her shoulder before turning back to him. "What are you doing here? Are Carly and AJ with you?"

 

"Not quite." Digg's smile turned conspiratorial. "I'm here with Oliver." He chuckled as Felicity blinked owlishly at him and raised a hand to adjust her glasses.

 

"You're here with Oliver." 

 

"Uh huh."

 

"Oliver 'I could buy half of Starling City' Queen is at the mall?"

 

"Yep." Digg reached forward, pulling off a bit of her pretzel and chewed it slowly as he sat back and watched her with amusement. Felicity stared back at him skeptically, fighting the urge to ask what had Starling City's prodigal billionaire playboy entrepreneur slumming it with the common folk at the mall. Digg watched as Felicity's eyes narrowed, and she adopted a look he privately called her 'Spockian Logic Face.'

 

"I would have thought the Queens would have people to do their shopping for them - or that they'd be more likely to frequent exclusive boutiques."

 

"You wouldn't be completely wrong." Digg winced and rubbed his fingertips against each other unconsciously, the memory of schlepping Thea's bags around as the teen spent an afternoon shopping.

 

"Then what is Oliver doing here himself?" Felicity paused, turning her head toward the left before whipping it around to look over her right shoulder, not wanting to be caught unawares by the man in question. She turned back to see Digg stealing another bite of her pretzel. "Actually, where is Oliver?" Her lips quirked into a smile as he choked a little on the pretzel and coughed to clear his throat.

 

"Oliver? Uh." Diggle glanced up and down the main concourse before returning his gaze to her and shrugging. "He's, uh, around."

 

"Digg?" Felicity set her soda aside and pulled her pretzel closer, both to discourage him from finishing it off and to keep his attention on her. "What are you and Oliver doing at Starling City Center on a Saturday?" She carefully arched a single brow, making a mental note when one of her partners in crime flinched. Seems like that move works for more than only Oliver, she thought as she fought to keep a grin off her face. "And why are you and Oliver at the mall on the weekend, and you appear to have split up?"

 

"I don't like your tone of voice, young lady." Diggle cleared his throat and schooled his face into a stern expression as he leaned forward, but Felicity noted that he crossed his arms defensively. She tilted her head forward, both brows raised in an expression of disbelief. "Mr. Queen and I are here doing what every other regular citizen of Starling City does when they go to the mall on the weekend: A little window shopping, a little people watching, maybe a trip to the food court."

 

"But you and Mr. Queen are hardly regular citizens of Starling City," She replied sarcastically, reaching for her soda. Her hand froze before it reached the cup and her face went slack, teasing expression gone as her eyes shot to his face. She was silent for a moment before she pinned him with a glare. "Are you and Oliver here on business?" Her emphasis made it clear which side of the business she was referring to, and she pressed one palm against the table as she half stood, leaning over the table to poke her teammate in the chest. "And neither of you told me or asked me to be your backup?"

 

"Hey, guys!" Oliver called brightly as he approached the pair at the table, pausing as he took in his tech specialist seemingly badgering his second. He stepped closer, snagging a chair from a nearby unoccupied table and spun it around, sitting down on it backwards and resting his arms on the back as he looked between them. "Did I miss something?"

 

"Felicity is concerned we're here for-"

 

"You two go on a mission, here of all places, and you don't tell me about it?" Felicity interrupted Diggle, dropping her voice to a stage whisper as she turned her glare on Oliver. Oliver stared at her silently, then put one hand on the arm of the hand with which she poking Diggle and the other on her shoulder, urging her back into her seat.

 

"Calm down, Felicity." The corner of Oliver's mouth twitched as he spoke placatingly, exchanging an amused look with Diggle. "We're not here on business." He reached for her soda, taking a sip and looking at it in disgust. "What is this?"

 

"Diet Cherry Coke." Felicity looked pointedly from his face to her soda and back. "My Diet Cherry Coke." She stared at him until he put the cup back on the table and held his hands up in surrender. Her triumphant smile flipped into a frown when she caught sight of a dark mark on the skin on the inside of his wrist, and she reached out unthinkingly, grabbing his hand and pulling it close to her while she shoved the sleeve of his olive green shirt up with her other hand. She rubbed the mark with her thumb, then turned her face up to look at Oliver, shooting Diggle a frustrated look as she did, and held her green-tinted thumb up for Oliver's inspection. "You told me you weren't here on business." Her tone was flat and her expression showed disappointment but little else. She released Oliver's arm as he tugged it away from her and took up one of her napkins, rubbing at the mark before licking his thumb and rubbing at it again.

 

"We're not." Diggle looked from one friend to the other, who appeared to have slipped into another of their exclusive disagreements. He smirked when Felicity's frown turned questioning, and she looked over at him. "But I figured Oliver wouldn't want to talk about why we are here."

 

"OK." Felicity shook her head and held up both hands. "Either you're lying to me about why you're here, or you both have less of a life than I do, and I have basically no life between the hours I put in at QC and the hours I put in at my second job. Not that I had much of a life before I started-" Her pause was brief, but she was clearly trying to exercise some discretion, despite clearly gearing up for an epic ramble. "Before I started my second job, which I love and part of why I love it is because it gives me something to fill up my time because there are only so many reruns of 'What Not to Wear' and old 'Iron Chef' episodes a girl can put up with before she starts wondering whether she's becoming a shut-in, and I can't really handle being a shut-in because then I'd need to get a cat. Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but it wouldn't be fair for me to have a pet when I don't spend that much time at home, although if I really were a shut-in, I guess I would be spending more time at home, so maybe I could take care of a cat." She stopped abruptly, looking thoughtful. "I always wanted a pet. I had a clown fish in high school; I named him Garfield."

 

"You named a fish 'Garfield'?" Oliver asked, hoping to keep her distracted from her original line of questioning.

 

"Well, clown fish are orange, and so is Garfield." Diggle shrugged when they both looked at him askance.

 

"I also thought it was funny in an ironic way." Felicity picked up her soda, took a sip then set it down and ran her finger around the edge absently. "I was being ironic before it was popular." She grinned when Diggle barked out a laugh, then snickered when Oliver looked between the two of them in confusion, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it: I'll explain it some other time. What are you two doing here?"

 

"Um." Oliver looked to Diggle for help, frowning when the other man shrugged and gestured back at him. "Certain - cosmetic products I use have been giving me a bit of a rash, recently." He pointed at the skin around his eyes, which was faintly pinker than the surrounding skin, now that Felicity studied him more closely. "I think it has something to do with the mineral levels of the water here, but I can't exactly go to a dermatologist without explaining exactly what I'm using that's causing this reaction." His gaze dropped to the table top, studying the formica intently. "I mentioned it to Digg, and he suggested we come here and hit all the stores that might carry a possible replacement." He looked up at Felicity forlornly, ignoring the choked breaths coming from the other side of the table that he knew was his bodyguard laughing silently. "But we've been to all the department stores, and not only have I not found a replacement, but the women who work at the cosmetic counters are downright scary." He shuddered and inched his hand toward Felicity's pretzel, drawing it back when she lightly slapped his fingers. "They won't let you look at things in peace, and one of them actually suggested I might need to consider a chemical peel to get rid of the signs of premature aging." He frowned. "I didn't exactly have access to a facialist and a salon while I was gone." He looked up when Felicity snorted, only to find her eyes wide, her cheeks pink and her hand clamped over her mouth as her shoulders shook. He sighed. "Not you, too."

 

"I'm sorry." She gasped, a little breathless. "But you and Digg are at the mall to go makeup shopping?"

 

"Yes." Oliver straightened in his seat and glared at the other members of his team.

 

"And you thought you could bring Starling City's prodigal son to the mall to go make-up shopping, and no one would notice?" Felicity grinned at Diggle, who shrugged affably.

 

"I mentioned as much to him, but he told me not to worry." Diggle jerked a thumb at their mutual employer, who's glare was venturing dangerously close to a pout. "Said he's a master of disguise."

 

"Uh huh." Felicity turned her gaze back to Oliver. "And how, pray tell, have you been putting the good, mall-going people of Starling City off your trail?"

 

"With this." Diggle reached over and pulled a dark blue item from Oliver's back pocket, letting it dangle from his fingers as he held it up for Felicity to see.

 

"Hey!" Oliver reached out, grabbing the item from Diggle and shaking it out, turning it so Felicity could see it was actually a slightly faded baseball cap. He placed it on his head, letting the brim throw his features into shadow and turned to face Felicity, who leaned forward, studying him silently. "See?"

 

"Uh huh." Felicity leaned back a little, tilting her head first to one side, then the other, and finally shook her head. "Nope."

 

"Well, of course you know it's me." Oliver leaned back a little, letting his shoulder slump as he slouched. "But just pretend for a minute you didn't know it's me. You wouldn't be able to tell, right?"

 

"No, that's not it." Felicity tapped a finger to her lips as she hmm-ed. "It's more that I finally realized why you never wear hats."

 

"They're not exactly part of the accepted dress code at QC or Verdant."

 

"No." She shook her head, giving him a pitying look. "That's not why. It's because your family clearly loves you enough to never let you leave the house looking like that." She laughed when he pulled the hat off his head and leaned forward, shoving it back into his pocket. She shook her head and pulled a final piece of her pretzel off, chewing it as she pushed the rest of it across the table for the other two to finish. She leaned back in her chair as she swallowed and finished her soda, looking up and down the mall speculatively. "So, you really didn't have any lucky finding a replacement?"

 

"No."

 

"Where did you look?"

 

"Everywhere."

 

"Humor me."

 

"All the department stores." Oliver wiped his fingers on a napkin, then balled it up and tossed into her empty cup. "And Target, but we went there first."

 

"Well, then you missed like half the places in the mall that carry make up." Felicity stood and adjusted her bag, putting both hands on her hips and jerked her chin. "C'mon, you two. Snack time's over." She smiled as they both groaned, rising to their feet.

 

"It's fine, Felicity." Oliver shrugged, picking up the trash and turning to look for a garbage can. He spotted one and walked toward it, calling back over his shoulder. "I'm sure I'll stop having the reaction once I build up a tolerance for it."

 

"Nope." Felicity followed and plucked at his sleeve, grinning as Diggle wandered after them, a put upon look on his face. "I'm sure we can find you something to use instead of what you normally use, and we will." She walked backwards ahead of them, pointing down one length of the mall, then the other. "There's plenty of places to look that aren't department stores." She stumbled slightly when Oliver reached out and caught her arm, pulling her forward into him to avoid her tumbling backwards over a janitorial cart. She glanced over her shoulder and 'eeep'-ed, shooting him a grateful smile then turned to walk next to him as she explained their plan of attack for the remaining cosmetics stores.

 

Diggle walked along behind them, wondering when they'd realize Oliver still had hold of Felicity's sleeve.

***

Two hours, and a Sephora, Sally Beauty Supply, Body Shop, Bath & Body Works and a Claire's later, Felicity paced in front of an undeniably cranky Oliver, who sat perched on the edge of a bench surrounding a raised planting bed. He had his elbows propped on his knees and was examining the flecks of color in the stone floor, her feet crossing back and forth at the edge of his field of vision. Diggle had ditched them 45 minutes earlier, claiming Carly had invited him to dinner at her place, and he'd promised to help his nephew with a school project. He'd taken the car, with the understanding he'd leave it at Verdant for Oliver to pick up later, if Felicity would drop him off at the club.

 

"I don't understand this." Felicity raised her fingertips to her temples, rubbing them with a pained expression.

 

"It's not your fault." Oliver commented, his flat tone indicating he wasn't sure of the truth of his words. "There's a lot of stores, and it was reasonable to expect at least one of them to have something that would work."

 

"Of course it's not my fault." Felicity stopped in her circuit and turned to look at Oliver, who raised his head to meet her stare. She folded her arms over her chest and drummed her fingers on her arm. "What I can't understand is how you can be so picky about this." Her expression turned pointed and expectant when he gaped.

 

"I'm picky?" Oliver ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. "I'm not the one who insisted on leaving a store when those perfectly nice saleswomen were being really helpful."

 

"We were the only people in the store." Felicity said dryly, as she took a step closer, shaking her head exasperatedly as she gestured between them. "It's not like they had other customers to wait on."

 

"Exactly." Oliver sat up a little, looking put out. "I don't understand why you made us leave."

 

"Well, for one thing," Felicity ticked off her points on her fingers. "I didn't want you to come out of this experience thinking it's normal to have a clerk's undivided attention because it's not. It doesn't matter how good someone is at his or her job: Normally, they're juggling a couple of customers. This isn't one of your fancy boutiques. Two, I didn't like how they were looking at you. Three-" Felicity pursed her lips when Oliver smirked smugly. "Shut up. Three, it's not a great idea to have two strangers who would potentially be able to identify you to police and confirm you had purchased green eye makeup."

 

"Hey." Oliver reached out and snagged her sleeve, pulling her forward and tugging her down onto the bench next to him. He leaned his head toward hers, a frown on his lips though his eyes were crinkled in amusement. "Keep it down, would you? Forget strangers giving me away." 

 

"Oh." Felicity's eyes widened, and she quickly glanced around, dropping her voice to match his. "Sorry. I didn't even think-"

 

"It's OK. It's pretty dead at this hour." Oliver chuckled and shrugged as he sat back, letting his arms settle along the back of the bench. Felicity scooted back, her feet not quite touching the floor and ran her thumbnail along the side seam of her jeans. She stared blindly ahead, oblivious to Oliver watching her.

 

"Oh!" She straightened, and turned to him, grinning. "I know where we can look."

 

"Felicity, I don't know if I can handle much more of this." He lifted a hand to gesture around the mall, quiet and emptier now, as it approached the dinner hour. "How about we head back to the city, and I'll get you a Big Belly burger as a thank you for your help?"

 

"No." Felicity shook her head emphatically, frowning when her stomach audibly growled. "I mean, yes on the burger, but, please, we need to go to this one last place because I'm sure they'll have something that'll work." She smiled encouragingly. "They have everything." She clasped her hands together under her chin and looked at him beseechingly. She clapped when he scrubbed a hand over his face and nodded, standing and turning to offer her a hand.

 

"Alright. Lead on, McSmoak."

***

Oliver halted a few feet inside the store, senses overwhelmed by the noise of hair dryers coming from the back of the building, the bright lighting overhead, the circus of perfumes and colognes arranged ahead in the center of the store, and the array of delicately arranged cosmetic displays. His eyes widened momentarily in a panic, and he swallowed as Felicity stepped up next to him, a shopping basket hanging from the crook of her arm.

 

"What is this place?" He asked quietly, giving a passing black-clad employee a tense smile.

 

"What?" She didn't look up from a mailing she'd pulled from her bag, instead striding away toward row after row of makeup. He followed her quickly, careful to give the displays a wide berth.

 

"This place." Oliver stopped when she did, turning to examine the shelf she was running her finger along, the colors of the products and their packages blurring before his eyes. "What is this?"

 

"It's Ulta." Felicity replied nonchalantly, humming to herself and pulling a pale blue tube of something from a box and dropping it in her basket. She continued down the row, stopping when she realized he wasn't following. She turned back and bit back a laugh at the uncomfortable look on his face, walking back to him and linking her arm through his. As she led him toward the next aisle, she leaned up to speak quietly into his ear. "Mad scientists, the city's most corrupt residents, trained killers - none of them phase you, but I bring you here and you look like you're in mortal peril?" She snickered when he noticeably shuddered as they skirted a gaggle of pre-teen girls speaking in high-pitched voices and sentence fragments about lipsticks. She nudged him with her elbow. "Calm down: You look like I have you here under duress."

 

"OK." Oliver took a deep breath, forcing his face into a more natural expression as he nodded. "OK. Let's- let's just get this over with as quickly as possible, OK?"

 

"Of course." Felicity nodded absently as they paused in front of a display of eye makeup, and she studied it for several minutes before finally selecting three tins and lining them up in her hand for closer inspection.

 

"Hi! Is there anything I can help you folks with this evening?" A petite redhead, dressed all in black with a white name tag that read 'Lydia,' asked as she approached, a second pin on her apron, that read 'ULTA Makeup Maven,' glinting in the light.

 

"Hi." Felicity smiled in greeting, elbowing Oliver when he unconsciously tensed. She held up the three tins of eye shadow and tilted them toward Lydia. "I'm trying to decide between these three."

 

"Hmmm." The redhead tapped a finger against her glossy red lips, tilting her head as she glanced between the tins and Felicity. "I would have to recommend - none of them."

 

"Really?" Felicity frowned, glancing from the tins to the display on the shelf. "I thought this was a good brand for sensitive skin."

 

"Oh, it totes is!" Lydia smiled widely, as she leaned forward, reaching past Felicity for two other tins. "But those green shades are all wrong for someone with your coloring. I would recommend either of these, which would be way more flattering. This one in particular would really make your eyes pop." She held one tin out to Felicity, who took it and studied it carefully. 

 

"Do you think so?" Felicity looked up at the saleswoman. "This is a little darker than the shade I normally wear, but I've been thinking the one I usually use isn't exactly right if I wanted to do a smoky eye, and if this one would work-" She stopped as Oliver quietly cleared his throat, blinking rapidly and shooting him a glance. She turned her attention back to Lydia, who was giving Oliver a mildly disgusted look. "Well, I'll take your word for it." She dropped the tin into her basket. "But I still need to decide on one of these three."

 

"None of them are really going to be good colors for you." Lydia's eyes slid to Oliver, looking him over from head to toe, before looking back at Felicity. "And I generally advise against doing your makeup simply to match someone else's style."

 

"Oh." Felicity glanced between Lydia and Oliver, her cheeks flushing when the penny dropped. "Oh! Oh, no. No no no." She smiled awkwardly. "I'm not trying to match anyone." She shrugged as Oliver glanced at her, his eyebrow raised. "No, see, it's for my - Halloween costume."

 

"Oh?" Lydia looked intrigued. "What are you going as? Because normally you can do your makeup in the same style as whatever your costume is, but in colors that suit you."

 

"Uh." Felicity chewed her bottom lip as she thought quickly. "It's for a party at a club in the Glades, so I thought I'd go as- as-" She fought the urge to look over at Oliver, and swallowed. "As the hooded vigilante."

 

"Really?" Lydia gave Felicity an appraising look. "Unusual, but, yeah, I guess I could see it." She scrunched up her nose. "But, like, you're going to do be the sexy version, right?"

 

"Sure." Felicity replied smoothly, shifting her weight and stepping lightly on Oliver's toes when he growled quietly. "You know: Boots, black leather pants, a bow and arrow from a toy store-"

 

"Black corset and one of those cute cropped, hooded shrugs Forever 21 has?" Lydia continued, her eyes bright as a devious smile spread across her lips.

 

"Yep." Felicity nodded vigorously, shooting a glare at Oliver as she felt him tense again beside her. She knew he was probably unhappy with her cover story, but, as far as she was concerned, he had no room to talk.

 

"But why do you need the green shadow?" Lydia tilted her head to one side, looking nothing so much as like an inquisitive Pomeranian.

 

"Well, y'know." Felicity shrugged. "Based on all the eye-witness reports, the real Hood seems to have greasepaint or something around his eyes."

 

"Oh. Right." Lydia shook her head, snorting a laugh. "I don't know who that guy thinks he's kidding: Even that weirdo in Gotham wears a mask. In that case, I wouldn't go with the dry shadow." She took the tins from Felicity and put them back on the shelf, leading the blonde down the row to a display of cream shadows from the same company, and pulling out a tube. "I'd go with this one: Better coverage and all the benefits of the sensitive skin formula. And this shade is slightly better with your coloring than the ones in the dry version."

 

"Thanks." Felicity looked between the tube in her hand and a larger one on the same shelf. "I think I might actually get the bigger size: I'll probably have more than one party to go to where I'll need the costume."

 

"Good thinking." Lydia nodded and then beckoned her on to the next aisle. "Now, we need to find you a lipstick that will complement that shade."

***

Ten minutes later, Oliver breathed deeply as the doors to the store closed behind him and Felicity. He shook his head when she shot him an amused look.

 

"Never. Again."

 

"Don't worry." Felicity adjusted her grip on the bag, and looked both ways as she stepped off the curb. "I'm pretty sure that poor girl thought you were super rude. There's no way I'm taking you in there again."

 

"I mean it, Felicity." Oliver jogged to catch up with her as they headed across the vast parking lot to her car. He smiled when her lips quirked up into a smirk and she shook her head again. "Besides, I don't think Lydia thought I was rude. I think she thought I was your long-suffering boyfriend who was frightened at being in an enormous cosmetics store." He chuckled when Felicity tripped over her own feet at the word 'boyfriend' and wrapped a hand around her arm for a few steps, then let his hand drift down to the small of her back.

 

"I'm sure she didn't think you were my boyfriend." Felicity was proud of herself that she managed to say the word without choking on it. "She probably thought you were my guy friend who I'd dragged to the mall."

 

"Uh huh." Oliver nodded even as he rolled his eyes. As they neared her car, he took the shopping bag from her and rounded the Mini to get in on the passenger side. He was silent as they buckled their seat belts and Felicity turned the key in the ignition. He didn't speak again until they were stopped at the exit, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. "So. Uh, that costume you described. You're not, um, actually planning on dressing up as that for Halloween, are you?"

 

"I wasn't planning on dressing up for Halloween at all, actually." Felicity flipped on her turn signal and turned onto the street, heading back toward the Glades.

 

"Oh." Oliver looked out the passenger window, and missed the confused look she shot him at the note of disappointment in his voice. He cleared his throat. "I was thinking your idea of a Halloween party at Verdant wasn't all bad. I wouldn't have to worry if anyone saw me coming or going while I was wearing my gear."

 

"But I'd be working downstairs." Felicity shrugged. "I wouldn't need a costume. I could wear whatever I normally wear."

 

"Then maybe I'm going to have to take the night off, so you'll have to come to the party and wear a costume."

 

"Right. Because you deciding weeks in advance to take a night off from putting the fear of God into people is going to work out."

 

"It could."

 

"Well, if you do take the night off, and you do have a party, and I do come, I probably wouldn't dress up as you, anyways."

 

"Why not? I could let you use one of my practice bows. It'd be perfect."

 

"Well, I thought I could dress up as one of the villains from Gotham City who's been in the news recently. That's why I agreed to the lipstick the girl suggested." Felicity saw Oliver fish the lipstick out of the back on the floor at his feet and turn it over to read the name on the bottom: Femme Fatale.

 

"And which villain would you be dressing up as?" Oliver asked, his voice a little gravely.

 

"Well." Felicity slowed to a stop at a red light and glanced over at him, a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. "I was thinking of that Poison Ivy chick. I'd need to get a red wig, of course, but that lipstick looks like something someone with a kiss of death would wear, don't you think?" She watched as Oliver swallowed and he licked his lips, turning her attention back to the road as the light turned green, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the dazed look on his face. It was nice to know she could have an effect on him every once in a while, even if his reaction had more to with the villainess' well-publicized proclivity for skin-tight green leather than anything to do with her personally.

 

"I'm not sure." Oliver said hoarsely, finally managing a reply to the blonde's teasing question. He turned and studied her profile quietly. "I guess we'd have to test the 'kiss of death' part of it." He smirked when she inhaled sharply.

 

And though the point was moot once the Starling city traffic cop who pulled her over caught sight of Oliver in the passenger seat, Felicity swore she'd swerved only to avoid a squirrel that darted into the road, and for no other reason.


End file.
